On the left, Traer City Council member Jon Panfil; on the right, retiring Tama County Sheriff Dennis Kucera. PHOTO COMPILATION BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

TRAER – A pair of retirements by longtime members of the Traer community dominated the most recent meeting of the Traer City Council.

During the Monday, Dec. 2 regular meeting, the resignation of council member Jon Panfil was approved following the news Panfil and his wife Diane are relocating to Waukee as part of their respective retirements. Diane Panfil is also retiring from her position as director of the Traer Public Library with her last day set for Dec. 27. (A story about the new library director is set to publish in a future newspaper edition.)

Panfil was first elected to the city council in 2001, serving through 2003 before resigning to take over as city clerk, a role which he held until retiring in February of 2020.

He then ran again for city council in 2021 for one of two open seats including a vacancy. He and incumbent James Erhardt were elected to the seats, beating out Kennan Seda who was also running.

With Panfil’s most recent resignation, the council will lose a wealth of knowledge but he told the newspaper he feels the City is in good hands particularly with city clerk Haley Blaine.

Traer City Council member Jon Panfil smiles while discussing his resignation during the Monday, Dec. 2 regular meeting. Also during the meeting, Tama County Sheriff Dennis Kucera’s retirement was addressed by the council. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

“She can always call me. I have voicemail,” he said with a laugh.

Following approval of Panfil’s resignation, the council appointed Aaron Mennenga to the vacancy.

“This person would begin in January of 2025, and they would be on the ballot next November,” Blaine explained of the appointment.

Mennenga, who was nominated to the position by Mayor Pete Holden, was the only individual to express interest in the vacancy, Blaine said. His nomination was approved unanimously by the council.

Sheriff Kucera provides final report

Retiring Tama County Sheriff Dennis Kucera, a resident of Traer, chuckles while standing in Traer Municipal Hall on Monday, Dec. 2, as city clerk Haley Blaine, off frame, gives him some good-natured ribbing. Sheriff Kucera was present at the Traer City Council meeting to deliver his final sheriff’s office report. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Prior to Panfil’s resignation, Tama County Sheriff Dennis Kucera, a Republican from Traer, provided the monthly sheriff’s department report – the final of his career as he, too, is retiring at year’s end.

Kucera first joined the Tama County Sheriff’s Department as a reserve officer in 1981 before starting full time in 1983. He was then elected sheriff in 2000 and has served in the position ever since.

“I figured, you know what, this would be the last council meeting [I could attend as sheriff], so I thought I would come do it myself,” Kucera said of the report Tama County Deputy Casey Schmidt has been providing to the council for at least the last year. Schmidt, a Republican from Dysart, was elected to replace Kucera during the Nov. 5 election.

“I’m not sure what Casey’s format was, but you’re going to get my old one,” Kucera told the council, eliciting some chuckling.

For the month of November, Kucera said Traer had 39 calls for service and 254 hours.

Calls included shots fired on the southeast side of town (officers were unable to locate a source); an assault with hands for which the caller did not want charges filed but rather assistance for the individual; three civil dispute calls for stand-by as an individual was evicted from a First Street address – “It was quite a display,” Kucera said of the whole ordeal; a barking dog complaint; criminal trespass related to the First Street eviction; a domestic disturbance; two harassment calls; a welfare check on a juvenile; motor vehicle problems involving “a vehicle at the stoplight that was having transmission trouble. When they were pushing the vehicle out of the intersection, the transmission kicked in and the vehicle struck the bank. No major, serious damage of any kind” but the vehicle was towed and the driver cited; four moving violations; a suspicious person complaint “along the creek with flashlights – northwest corner of town. Unable to locate anybody but we believe it might have been somebody related to the eviction”; and two theft reports.

“That is the extent of my report. Any questions, complaints, comments? Compliments?” Kucera then said – eliciting laughter from the room – while standing at the back of the council chambers.

“Thank you for all the years that you’ve been coming here,” Mayor Holden said.

“Well, thank you very much,” Kucera replied. “The only thing that I can [say], if you’ve felt that I’ve done well [it’s] because I have a good team that was backing me up. And I believe in the future it will continue that way with my replacement.”

“Believe me, I’m looking forward to retiring. Finally.”

Following the meeting, several members of the council including the mayor expressed their gratitude to Sheriff Kucera for all his years of service. His ability to infuse (an appropriate amount) of dry humor into his monthly reports was also appreciated and will be missed.

Tama County Sheriff-elect Schmidt is scheduled to be sworn in at the end of the month at the Tama County Administration Building in Toledo.